whimnsplains: What You Need To Know About The Claremont Killings Case

Alleged Claremont serial killer Bradley Robert Edwards' case in under way and here's everything you need to know.

The trial against Bradley Robert Edwards in relation to the 1997 Claremont Killings has been thrown a curveball in court this week.

The Claremont serial killings is one of the most notorious true crime cases in Australian history. The case involved the disappearance of an 18-year old Australian woman and the killings of two others (aged 23 and 27) between 1996 and 1997.

After all three women disappeared in similar circumstances (after attending night spots in Claremont), police suspected that an unidentified serial killer was the offender.

The case has been described as the state’s biggest, longest running and most expensive investigation and remains unsolved to this day. In 2016 Bradley Robert Edwards was arrested and his trial began in November 2019. Just this week, the case hit a major speed bump which has thrown the entire proceedings off-course.

Now, the pathologist who assisted in what the prosecution claims was the crucial DNA breakthrough that led to Edwards’ arrest has admitted to making errors in his statements to police. Forensic expert Laurie Webb matched male DNA found under the fingernails of victim Ciara Glennon, to samples taken from a 17-year old girl who was brutally raped in 1995.

Bradley Edwards admitted to the 1995 rape, and is now standing trial for the murders of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon in 1996 and 1997. He has pleaded not guilty.

Where did it go wrong?

Originally, Mr Webb said he took samples from Miss Glennon’s fingernails to the UK in 2008 to undergo sophisticated DNA testing which was not then available in Australia. Two of the fingernail samples would go on to be pivotal in the prosecution's argument that Edwards murdered Miss Glennon.

The DNA samples were tested in the UK using a method called Low Copy Number testing, finding it matched the male DNA of Edwards. Mr Webb originally claimed the samples had been securely packed in tamper-proof envelopes and kept separate to other DNA samples relating to a different homicide. However, Mr Webb now claims that he made errors in earlier statements and had actually mixed up which of Miss Glennon’s hands the fingernail samples had come from.

Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon all disappeared in similar circumstances from Claremont.Source:Whimn

Not only that, but Mr Webb’s colleague Aleksander Bagdonovicius has also admitted to making mistakes in recording tests done on the fingernail samples. Bagdonovicius claims he recorded that a test had been conducted on a sample when it hadn't and mistakenly recorded the incorrect date on other samples.

Though Edwards has admitted it is his DNA under Miss Glennon’s fingernails, he disputes how it came to be there. His legal team are working hard to cast doubt on the DNA process, using these blunders as a key component of their defence cased.

Just yesterday, it was also revealed that DNA profiles were also being compared to potential suspect Lance Williams. He was originally considered a prime suspect by police, as he was known to drive around Claremont late at night. Police subjected him to rigorous surveillance over the course of a few years before ruling him out. Williams died in 2018.